Physical therapy is an important aspect of not only an individual's recovery from an illness or injury by restoring the body's function and movement, but is also an important aspect in maintaining an individual's well-being and/or improving physical abilities. For example, physical therapy can be used to activate important muscle groups in the neck, trunk, abdomen and hip muscles, all of which are crucial in maintaining balance and stability and preventing falls.
As not everyone has access to physical therapists, devices that individuals can use at home or travel with are desirable. There are many devices on the market that aim to replicate specific techniques commonly used by physical therapists and chiropractors to treat neck and shoulder dysfunction along with many other rehabilitation techniques by the use of compression using one's bodyweight. The problems and deficiency in these products are not necessarily the product itself, but lies in the lack of joint and muscle mobilization exercise that can be done before performing the exercise the bar has to offer. The technology in mobilization and compression flossing as an aid to restore a dysfunctional movement pattern cannot be performed with the conventional products being sold. If there is restriction in the neck and shoulder, it is not an effective tool for rehabilitation without using the function of compression flossing before using the bar as a functional training bar. With a functional training bar, users typically attach a bar to either a large pulley weighted machine or portable door anchor that can often be found in gyms and available online.
During rehabilitation exercises, the dominant overactive muscle group needs to be released before performing any of the exercises the functional fitness bar can offer. That is, compression flossing should be performed before utilizing the functional training bar in order to maximize the benefit from the functional training bar.
One home do-it-yourself method of rehabilitation has been to take a tennis ball (or other type of ball such as a lacrosse ball) and cut a hole in it and placing it on a wooden stick. However, this do-it-yourself version is risky and dangerous as the ball is not securely attached to the stick and it does not allow for various sizes or ball density (from soft to firm) to be easily interchanged for different muscle groups or exercises. Additionally, this do-it-yourself version does not offer secure attachment points to allow versatility by adding a resistance band to the movements and offer various ranges of difficulty. It is also not portable for travel.
It is also known to use balls (such as rubber balls, lacrosse balls, tennis balls and yoga balls) on their own as the user can lay on them using their body weight to penetrate trigger points and tight muscles, however it is not possible to access the deep muscle of the neck and shoulder effectively without the pole component while keeping the spine straight and supported on the floor.
Other common methods utilized for neck and shoulder dysfunction are a towel traction method and a scraping technique, however with each of these methods it is difficult to access the areas of muscle dysfunction without the shaft. Other known treatment methods for neck, shoulder and first, second rib dysfunction and thoracic outlet syndrome include (1) the Graston Technique which uses a tool that scrapes the soft tissue to encourage healing; (2) the Active Release Technique; and (3) Massage—Trigger Point Therapy, Chiropractic and Physical Therapy.
The problems and deficiency in these products are not necessarily the products themselves, but instead lie in the lack of joint and muscle mobilization exercise a user can do before performing the exercise the bar has to offer. The technology in mobilization and compression flossing as an aid to restore a dysfunctional movement pattern cannot be performed with the standard bars currently being sold. If there is restriction in the neck and shoulder, it is not an effective tool for rehabilitation without using the compression flossing function before the user uses the bar for functional bar training.
For rehabilitation, the dominant overactive muscle group needs to be released before performing any of the exercises the functional fitness bar can offer. The user needs the component of compression flossing in order to maximize the use of the functional fitness bar.
Furthermore, the above mentioned products have a fixed bar limiting the volume of movements to cater for muscular or joint imbalances. The fitness bars currently available also do not replicate the feel and correct movement for rowing, canoeing and stand up paddle boarding (SUP)—a key movement in back, shoulder, core and spine rehab.
The muscle therapy device of the present disclosure overcomes these problems and disadvantages with known devices. As described in more detail below, the muscle therapy device of the present disclosure may include an elongated shaft comprised of a plurality of detachable segments that allow the user to change the length of the elongated shaft (i.e. bar), convert the elongated shaft into separate bars, one in each hand and attach a resistance band on each bar.
The muscle therapy device of the present disclosure also provides for the ability to attach a handle on one end of the elongated shaft to mimic a canoeing and stand up paddle for back, core and shoulder exercise.